SILVERDALE, Wash. – Seattle Seahawks fans sometimes might describe a player's accomplishments on the field as heroic.

Rarely does a player become a real-life hero.

It happened Monday morning to former Seahawks placekicker Norm Johnson, when he pulled a woman out of an overturned 2001 Pontiac Grand Am in Kitsap County.

The woman was driving down an icy road when she lost traction and flipped over.

Johnson, now a real estate agent, rounded the corner and saw the car upside down with its nose submerged in a water-filled ditch. The woman was scrambling to get out of the frigid water.

KING

Former Seattle Seahawks kicker Norm Johnson

"She was crawling on all fours upside down on the roof, but she was in a real, hysterical panic," said Johnson.

The doors were wedged shut, so using the tool that made him famous in the NFL – his foot – Johnson tried to kick out a window.

"I actually was hitting the window with my foot, it just wouldn't break," said Johnson.

"I said this window is not going to beat me."

Johnson grabbed a large rock and gave it everything he had. It turns out Johnson was the tougher opponent and the woman scrambled into his arms.

Johnson says he was simply doing what he hopes someone would do for his family. In fact, the former Seahawk says dealing with co-workers is proving to be the tougher challenge.

"Oh, I'm getting a lot of ribbing around my office. There saying 'where is there a phone booth along Olympic View Road where you can change into your Superman outfit?'" jokes Johnson.

The woman was not injured in the crash.

Johnson, 47, played for the Seahawks from 1982-1990.